Page 107 - Song Maps - A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics - Simon Hawkins

So what map do I start with?
While the seven Song Maps included in this book represent a selection of universal Song Maps that you can immediately use in your writing, you may be wondering which one to start with.
Earlier in this book I suggested that Tension/Response is the Swiss Army knife of Song Maps because it is by far the simplest and most intuitive to apply. That will almost always be a great place to start.
One of the reasons for selecting these seven Song Maps is I believe all of them can be used in every genre of lyric-driven songwriting. However, there are certain Maps that tend to get used more often than others in particular genres.
Having listened to thousands of songs in researching this book and analyzed which songs are most used, here are my top-3 recommendations for which Song Map you might like to start with for each genre of lyric-driven songs:
Country
1. Timezones
2. Roles
3. Places
Classics like Randy Travis' "Three Wooden Crosses" and Kenny Rogers' "Coward of the County" are great templates. The storytelling nature of Timezones, Roles and Places clearly means they work well for Country Songs.
With hits like "Hell Yeah," "Roll With Me" and "Lucky Man," Montgomery Gentry gets my vote for the Master of the Roles Map!
Pop
1. Problem/Declaration
2. Tension/Response
3. Other
No surprises here. "Other" includes Song Maps that I have not covered in this book, such as Gradual Reveal. If you'd be interested in learning more about that or other Maps, I'd value your feedback–just email me at the contact details at the end of the book.
CCM
1. Tension/Response
2. Problem/Declaration
3. Timezones
Again, no surprises here. Tension/Response is so appropriate for the "therapy" nature of CCM, which often describes the internal/external struggles associated with the Christian walk.
Southern Gospel